Getting handicap tickets for this game was a pain and I never liked New York City, so this game was one I was not really looking forward to at all. It turned out to be very good, though. I guess it is not hard for them to impress me since I had rather low expectations after the
ticket fiasco. Really, though, they have proved to not only be modern ballpark with conveniences for fans, but that includes consideration for accessibility that is actually followed through with.
We got to the game several hours early to avoid traffic issues being actual problems time wise. We walked around the outside of the park. We also took some photos of the still standing Old Yankee Stadium, which is really just a shell, as the insides have been stripped and put up for sale to memorabilia collectors.
Once the gates opened 3 hours before the game we went to the Monument Park, which is back behind centerfield. It was not too crowded when we went, but closer to game time it gets pretty packed. It was better than the
Indians' Heritage Park, but mostly just because it was a regular elevator to get down to the park.
After Monument Park we headed to the Yankee Museum. It is rather small, especially for such a successful team. However, what it does have is worth seeing. The main focus is on their World Series Wins, but there is also seats from the different remodels and the new reincarnation of Yankee Stadium.
By the time we got done with the museum it was still two hours before game time and we could finally get to our seats on the 300 level. The seats turned out to be great ones. Best of all the experience was not ruined by fans wandering into the handicap section because the ushers were proactive on shooing them out quickly when they did sneak in. By game time there were no others trying to sneak a peek of the field by getting in our way.
Overall a great experience. I still do not like New York City and would choose Wrigley over any other ballpark besides maybe the Nats, but I would not entirely rule out going to another game st Yankee Stadium some day. Of course, the particular game we saw was part of the enjoyment.
The game was a good one played by both teams. The pitching wad pretty good, although almost all the scoring did come off homers. The coolest thing was seeing the top two active career home run leaders each hit a homer. The top leader Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 622nd and Alex Rodriguez hit his 566th, which puts him 3 away from tying the 10th career home run hitter of all time. The Yankees closer, Rivera, also got his 502nd career save. By the way he is second in the all time career saves record list.
I am too tired to get photos uploaded now. I might try and add before we leave for Boston area tomorrow, but we must hit the road early to ensure we make it to Mik's baclofen pump refill appointment on time. I really hope Internet is good at the KOA in Boston.
Sent from my iPhone
Update 7/2/09: Photos have been added. There are a lot more of the stadium and the game in the album, which you can get to be clicking
here or by clicking any of the thumbnails in this post.
They had a few different Yankee Stadium Inaugural Season balls to choose from. I choose one that is dark blue and silver. The dark blue strip says Inaugural Season New York Yankees. The silver strip has the 2009 Yankee Stadium Inaugural Stadium logo and the Yankee baseball and bat logo that has the patriotic top hat on the bat.
